Here are the results of the Division B Fall Contest!
Humorous Speech Contest:
Alexander Pattyn (Toastmasters Fonske Leuven)
Sundeep Bhardwaj (To Be Discussed, Luxembourg)
Sandra Lizioli (Artful Orators, Brussels)
Table Topics Contest:
Sidney Schreiber (The Brussels Toastmasters Club)
Danielle Diamond (State Street, Luxembourg)
Paulina Murrath (Toastmasters Fonske Leuven)
Bruno Trounday (Armada Toastmasters, Brussels) will represent our Division at the Spanish Humorous Speech Contest in Madrid. He is also our Division Champion in Spanish Table Topics.
Congratulations to all contestants! To the winners: ¡Mucha mierda en Madrid!
But first, don’t miss “Strictly Come Speaking”, the glamorous Shower of Feedback meeting of the Artful Orators on Wednesday, 2 November in Brussels! Whether you come to give or receive feedback, you will have fun, learn a lot and enjoy the glamour! Find out more.
Let’s work together and prepare our contestants to shine in Madrid. Division B: Where Winners Are Made!
Today, District 59 Champion Daniel Mouqué was interviewed by BRUZZ, the Dutch speaking TV channel for Brussels, on the eve of his departure for the USA.
▶ Watch to the interview
Earlier today, BRUZZ radio listeners woke up to Daniel giving part of his winning speech live on air! He was interviewed in BRUZZ’ morning show.
▶ Listen to the interview
Daniel Mouqué, our District 59 Champion, was featured on BRUZZ, the Dutch speaking news site for Brussels. The article qualifies Daniel as the first “Brusselaar” to go to the semifinals of the World Championship of Public Speaking!
Division B is tremendously proud of Daniel Mouqué (The Brussels Toastmasters Club), who won the International Speech Contest at the District 59 Spring Conference in Luxembourg. Daniel will represent our District in the semifinals of the World Championship of Public Speaking, at the Toastmasters International Convention in Washington, D.C., in August.
Daniel Mouqué was not the only fellow Toastmaster from our Division who performed above and beyond in the Spring contests. We also congratulate Bruno Cacciapuoti (Le Club des Orateurs, Brussels), who came third in the French Speech Contest, and Valentina Caimi (Berlaymont Toastmasters, Brussels), who came third in the Italian Speech Contest.
Belgian Toastmasters celebrating in Luxembourg.
Team B had a real blast in Luxembourg. Besides performing spectacularly in the Spring contests and rooting for their contestants, the more than 60 strong delegation from Belgium, Luxembourg and Northern France attended as well as lead captivating workshops, featuring Tom Aerden, Karin Bral, Margarida Brites, Crista Filip, Covey McAllister and Thomas Vervaet. And of course, we went above and beyond in partying, dancing and networking, like only Toastmasters can!
The road to Washington, D.C.
In the coming months, all clubs in our District are warmly invited to grant Daniel stage time to make his winning speech even better and to test material for the speech he is preparing for the final — without a shadow of a doubt, he will need that speech! What better way to support our District contestant, on the road to Washington, D.C.?
The first club to host the District Champion is Toastmasters Hasselt, at their 5th anniversary meeting on Saturday, 28 May. Register for this meeting!
The Brussels Toastmasters Club, Daniel Mouqué’s home club, will be welcoming home their District Champion on Tuesday, 31 May. Register for this meeting!
In 2015, contestants from Districts 59 and 95 took part in several “The Road to Vegas” events, one of which was organised at the Artful Orators club in Brussels. In London, two more districts joined the party for a shower of feedback. Right now, initiatives are being taken throughout Region 11 (of which all said districts are part) to stage events that will support our contestants as one EMEA family, in true collaborative Toastmasters spirit. We will keep you posted!
Full results of the District 59 Spring contests
International Speech Contest
1st: Daniel Mouqué, Division B (Brussels, Belgium)
2nd: Stewart Bornhoft, Division G (Monza, Italy)
3rd: Peter Zinn, Division C (Utrecht, The Netherlands)
English Evaluation Contest
1st: Peter McKenzie, Division K (Barcelona, Spain)
2nd: Carina Schey, Division J (Nyon, Switzerland)
3rd: Carol Bausor, Division F (Lyon, France)
French Speech Contest
1st: Patricia Mansecal, Division G (Rome, Italy)
2nd: Alain Petillot, Division A (Paris, France)
3rd: Bruno Cacciapuoti, Division B (Brussels, Belgium)
Italian Speech Contest
1st: Annalisa Crespi, Division G (Monza, Italy)
2nd: Melchior Glatthard, Division I (Bern, Switzerland)
3rd: Valentina Caimi, Division B (Brussels, Belgium)
Credits to Sean Ryan and Margarida Brites for compiling and sharing this list.
Who better than the World Champion of Public Speaking himself to promote Toastmasters? That is what Mohammed Qahtani did on 20 May 2016 at CreativeMornings, a monthly breakfast talk for the creative community in Brussels. As a partner of CreativeMornings Brussels, our Division assists the event in coaching its speakers.
Mohammed accepted the challenge of delivering a 2 minute pitch that instantly energised the audience — at 9:30 in the morning! He explained how feedback is at the core of Toastmasters meetings, how joining Toastmasters has changed his life and how it could change the lives of the creative people in the audience.
Afterwards, people came to meet this very special guest and wanted to know more about Toastmasters. Brussels clubs, be prepared to welcome new members who are eager to improve their creative talks!
On Thursday 19 May, World Champion of Public Speaking Mohammed Qahtani gave a Masterclass at Toastmasters Antwerpen.
After a keynote that was a 15 minute public speaking crash course in its own right, Mohammed gave instant feedback to no less than 15 speakers in front of a room packed with 70 enthusiastic Toastmasters and guests from all over Belgium and beyond.
The Wall of Feedback, as seen at the Lille Division conference, ensured that all speakers went home an envelope full of written feedback from attendees, on top of their on-stage coaching by the World Champion.
Egwin Gonthier, President of Toastmasters Antwerpen, was the Toastmaster of the Evening.
Mohammed Qahtani walked the talk while giving feedback on stage use to Ian MacBeath, long standing member of Toastmasters Antwerpen.
Mayor of Antwerp Bart De Wever and World Champion of Public Speaking Mohammed Qahtani
Toastmasters Antwerpen invited World Champion of Public Speaking Mohammed Qahtani to visit Antwerp, on his way from the District 95 Spring Conference in Timisoara to the District 59 Spring Conference in Luxembourg. On Thursday 19 May, he was received by Mr Bart De Wever, Mayor of the City of Antwerp, at “het Schoon Verdiep”, the sumptuously decorated “beautiful floor” of Antwerp’s 16th century City Hall.
Since Mr De Wever is arguably the best political orator in Flanders, his meeting with the World Champion of Public Speaking truly was an encounter of two giants of oratory!
The Mayor expressed his admiration for Mohammed Qahtani’s achievement and encouraged Toastmasters Antwerpen in its endeavours to promote the noble art of oratory in the Antwerp community.
Mohammed Qahtani was accompanied by a delegation of the executive committee of Toastmasters Antwerpen: President Egwin Gonthier, Vice President Public Relations Sandra D’Amario and incoming Sergeant at Arms Wouter Dupré. Vice Mayors Rob Van de Velde, Fons Duchateau, Ludo Van Campenhout and Nabila Ait Daoud joined Mayor Bart De Wever for the group picture.
On 23 april, the Lille Toastmasters Club organised a terrific event, everything went well! We were so proud of the core team! Now, Luxembourg, here we come!
Our contestants were well-prepared and impressive on stage. There was real emotion with the depiction of traumatising life experiences! The response amongst the public was immediate with real tears. The speeches were very touching when inspiring. And more humoristic when depicting the male-female realities.
Division B hereby proudly presents its contestants that will compete at the District 59 Spring Conference in Luxembourg:
International Speech Contest
1. Daniel Mouqué
2. Carsten Wendt
3. Erik Luijts
Contest Master: David Lewis
English Evaluation Contest
1. Jeffer London
2. Jack Gilbey
3. Covey McAllister
Contest Master: Alexis Brouard
1. Valentina Caimi
Contest Master: Bonifacio Di Pietrantonio
The four contestants: Jeffer London, Valentina Caimi, Bruno Cacciapuoti and Daniel Mouqué with Bess Stonehouse and Anita Sheehan at the Artful Orators in Brussels.
Division B takes feedback and mentoring very seriously amidst all the fun. On their way to Luxembourg, the four contestants received on Wednesday 11 May the infamous shower of coaching at the Artful Orators, Brussels’ Advanced Toastmasters Club. The contestants received feedback in English, French and Italian: that’s the stuff champions are made off!
Our multilingual recommendations to the contestants:
Daniel and Jeffer: Break a leg each!
Bruno: Bonne merde!
Valentina: In bocca al lupo!
Between his Spring conference keynotes in Timisoara (District 95) and Luxembourg (District 59), Mohammed Qahtani chose to spend some time in Belgium. Toastmasters Antwerpen invited the 2015 World Champion of Public Speaking to give a Masterclass on Thursday, 19 May.
In this highly interactive meeting, you will learn from Mohammed’s experience as a Toastmasters World Champion, keynote speaker and corporate trainer. His feedback, tips and tricks will enable you to create better speeches, boost your stage presence and conquer the hearts of your audience.
International Speech Contest
English Evaluation Contest
French Speech Contest
Italian Speech Contest
